UAE-based advanced technology and defence group EDGE has signed a memorandum of understanding with Basilicata, opening a new channel for industrial cooperation in southern Italy as the group expands its European footprint.The agreement was signed in Atella during an EDGE delegation visit to Costruzioni Motori Diesel, the propulsion specialist in which the Abu Dhabi group agreed in May to acquire an 80 per cent stake. The MoU sets out a framework to explore collaboration in industry, technology, innovation, knowledge exchange and talent development, with Basilicata positioned as a regional partner in EDGE’s wider European growth strategy.
Hamad Al Marar, managing director and chief executive of EDGE, formalised the agreement with Vito Bardi, president of Basilicata. The signing was attended by Abdulla Ali Al Subousi, UAE Ambassador to Italy, Giuseppe Telesca, mayor of Atella, and Francesco Somma, president of Confindustria Basilicata, underlining the institutional weight attached to the initiative.
The MoU follows EDGE’s planned acquisition of CMD, a company rooted in Basilicata’s industrial base and active in advanced propulsion systems for automotive, marine and aeronautical applications. The transaction, expected to close by the end of the year subject to regulatory and government approvals, is intended to give CMD access to capital investment and broader regional and international markets while strengthening EDGE’s position in propulsion technologies.
CMD, founded by the Negri family in 1989, has built its reputation around engine design, prototyping and production. Its operations are centred on Atella, in the province of Potenza, with production plants in Basilicata and research and administrative links in Campania. The company employs more than 220 people and generated turnover of about €40 million in 2025, after returning fully to Italian ownership at the start of the year through a reverse buyout involving the founding family.
For Basilicata, the agreement provides a route to connect a local industrial asset with a fast-expanding defence and advanced technology group. The region, part of southern Italy’s manufacturing landscape, has long sought to retain skilled industrial activity and attract investment that can anchor higher-value production. The presence of CMD gives the area a specialised base in engines, hybrid systems, precision machining and applied engineering, sectors increasingly linked to defence mobility, unmanned platforms and dual-use technologies.
EDGE’s strategy in Europe has moved rapidly from partnerships to industrial positioning. The group launched EDGE Europe in Paris this month as a French-registered commercial enterprise with a head office in the capital and an engineering and manufacturing hub in Bordeaux. Its European activity now includes stakes and partnerships across Estonia, Switzerland, Poland, Italy, France and Spain, spanning autonomous systems, propulsion, air platforms, naval capabilities, electronic warfare and sensors.
The Basilicata agreement fits that model by extending engagement beyond a single company acquisition. EDGE has presented its European approach as an open ecosystem strategy, working with companies, governments, universities and research centres to build capability locally rather than relying only on export sales from the UAE. The MoU with Basilicata therefore gives regional authorities and business groups a formal role in identifying future projects, training pathways and industrial partnerships.
The timing is significant. European defence expenditure has been rising sharply as governments respond to security pressures, supply-chain weaknesses and the need to rebuild military-industrial capacity. EU member states’ defence spending reached €343 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach about €381 billion in 2025. Defence investment is projected at nearly €130 billion this year, with equipment procurement likely to exceed €100 billion.
Those figures have intensified competition for manufacturing capacity, engineering skills and specialised suppliers. Propulsion has become a strategic area because it cuts across aircraft, naval platforms, military vehicles, drones and hybrid power systems. CMD’s piston engine and advanced propulsion expertise gives EDGE a foothold in a segment where Europe has established technical depth but also faces pressure to accelerate development cycles.
The deal also reflects a broader shift in Gulf defence groups, which are moving from procurement-led models towards ownership of technology, intellectual property and production capacity. EDGE, launched in 2019, has grown through acquisitions, joint ventures and international partnerships intended to support sovereign capability at home and exports abroad. Its move into CMD and Basilicata gives that strategy a manufacturing base inside the European industrial ecosystem.
For CMD, the partnership offers scale without severing its local roots. The acquisition framework envisages continued involvement by existing shareholders, retention of management continuity until closing and a detailed integration plan aimed at protecting know-how while expanding production and research. That balance will be closely watched in Basilicata, where foreign investment is welcomed when it preserves employment, supplier networks and decision-making capacity.
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